About 14 people were kidnapped and brutally killed by "terrorist" groups over the last few days in the central province of Homs, the official SANA news reported Wednesday.

The corpses were moved to the National Hospital in Homs, said SANA, adding that they were tortured and mutilated.

Some of the dead were shot in the head and the chest while others were cut by machetes and axes, said SANA.

Homs has spearheaded rallies against Syrian President Bashar al- Assad since protests erupted on March 15.

Syria has been in unrest since mid-March when anti-government protests broke out in the southern province of Daraa and spread to other cities.

The Syrian authorities blamed the unrest on "armed groups and foreign conspiracy," and stressed that it would track down gunmen who have intimidated people and damaged public and private properties.